Simone Elizabeth Saunders makes her New York debut with her new solo exhibition Unearthing Unicorns. Simone joins the Studio Noize fam to talk about her fantastic textile work. She explains the process behind tufting (with a tufting gun and a punch needle), her techniques to build her narratives, and her Black Nouveau aesthetic. Simone walks us through a few of the wonderful pieces and speaks about her use of animals as metaphors. It’s another great art conversation with getting to know another powerful, international Black woman artist. Listen, subscribe, and share!

Episode 162 topics include:

Unearthing Unicorns March 17 - May 13 at Claire Oliver Gallery

working on large-scale textiles

the Unicorn Tapestries

art nouveau influences

tufting guns vs punch needles

working with textiles 

the Black experience in Canada

sparkles in the art

using animals as metaphors

Simone Elizabeth Saunders (she/her) is a textile artist based in Mohkinstsis - Calgary, Canada.She holds a B.F.A. with Distinction from the Alberta University of Arts in 2020.Her textiles are hand tufted in the medium of rug-making using a punch-needle and tufting machine.

Saunders explores themes of the diaspora, ancestorship and Black womanhood. Her colourful textiles highlight motifs and iconography from her Jamaican heritage and engage with socio-cultural factors reclaiming power from oppressive ideologies. Currently,

Saunders is exploring the iconography of the famed high Renaissance era Unicorn Tapestries and Art Nouveau advertising through a contemporary Black feminist lens.

See more: www.simoneelizabethsaunders.com + Simone Elizabeth Saunders IG

Presented by: Black Art In America

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Your Own Unique Voice w/ textile artist Simone Elizabeth Saunders

In this episode Alice Wong introduces us to Lindsey D. Felt and Vanessa Chang, curators who collaborated on the multidisciplinary art exhibition "Recoding CripTech". 

Episode Artwork by: Jen White-Johnson (www.jenwhitejohnson.com)

Full episode transcript available below: 
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rW9gUlWx_jbxLV7aRTBimrIyoCbfCFY9NvoBiGfBxRI/edit?usp=sharing

Hard Out Here for a Gimp

Art & Technology w/ Lindsey D. Felt and Vanessa Chang

We are talking about collecting today on the Noize! We got attorney and art collector Nick Bedford. You might catch Nick in Miami at Art Basel, flying worldwide to check out all the shows, or in the studio with your favorite artists. Nick talks about the value of art, following artists as they grow, and getting into the politics behind collecting. Nick shines a light on what he values in purchasing, which includes the sketches and preliminary drawings. It’s a talk about the other side of the art business from a person actively supporting and acquiring work. Listen, subscribe, and share!

Episode 189 topics include:

reasons to collect

value in art

collecting sketches and preliminary works

what makes a great artist

how success changes artists and collecting

following artists as they grow

recent treasures in the collection

gatekeeping by museums and galleries

Nick Bedford bio:

Nicholas Bedford is a highly accomplished, leveraging his extensive legal expertise to provide exceptional defense for prominent corporate entities, municipalities, and trucking companies across the nation. Among his esteemed clientele are renowned organizations like National Indemnity Company, The Kroger Co., American Family Insurance, Grady Memorial Hospital, The Home Depot, Inc., The City of Atlanta, and some of the nation’s biggest corporate citizens. With over a decade of experience, Nicholas has consistently demonstrated his prowess in handling complex legal matters.

Beyond his legal achievements, Nicholas is deeply committed to his community and passionate about promoting artistic advocacy. He serves as a Board Member of Georgia Lawyers for the Arts and is the visionary Founder of the Artist Making a Difference Mural Program. Through this innovative initiative, Nicholas has spearheaded impactful murals and initiated programs for philanthropic causes, including the Ronald McDonald House, the Atlanta Missions, Allgood Elementary School, and the Jesse Draper Boys & Girls School.

See more:  Nick Bedford’s IG @nick_bed

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Personal Enjoyment w/ art collector Nick Bedford

Pittsburgh-based art historian and curator, Kilolo Luckett joins the Studio Noize fam today! Its always exciting to have dynamic, interesting women on the show because they have so much to offer. Kilolo has created an experimental, contemporary art platform with Alma Lewis and still works as an independent curator with artists like Stephen Towns, Amani Lewis and Thaddeus Mosley. She talks about building connections with artists that she curates, the importance or reading for artists and creating Alma Lewis as a place where artists can grow in their practice. Kilolo shares what she sees as the job of a curator and how to created a culture that supports artists in every way. Listen, subscribe, and share!

Episode 190 topics include:

building a connection to artists

what an artist reads

advocating for artists

what a curator does

the importance of narratives in art

creating Alma Lewis 

art culture 

supporting artists during a residency

Kilolo Luckett bio:

Kilolo Luckett is a Pittsburgh-based art historian and curator. With more than twenty-five years of experience in arts administration and cultural production, she is committed to elevating the voices of underrepresented visual artists, especially women, and Black and Brown artists.

Luckett is Founding Executive Director and Chief Curator of ALMA | LEWIS (named after abstract artists Alma Thomas and Norman Lewis), an experimental, contemporary art platform for critical thinking, constructive dialogue, and creative expression dedicated to Black culture.

Among the many exhibitions to her credit are Familiar Boundaries. Infinite Possibilities (2018), Resurgence – Rise Again:  The Art of Ben Jones (2019), I Came by Boat So Meet Me at the Beach by Ayana Evans and Tsedaye Makonnen (2020), Vanishing Black Bars & Lounges: Photographs by L. Kasimu Harris (2020), and Dominic Chambers:  Like the Shapes of Clouds on Water (2020) at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center; Amani Lewis: Reimagining Care (2021) and Lizania Cruz: Performing Inquiry (2022) at ALMA | LEWIS; Stephen Towns:  Declaration & Resistance (2022), which premiered at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art and travels to Boise Art Museum in Boise, Idaho, and Reynolda House Museum of American Art in Winston-Salem, North Carolina (2023); and Luckett co-curated SLAY: Artemisia Gentileschi & Kehinde Wiley (2022) at The Frick Pittsburgh.

She has curated exhibitions by national and international artists such as Peju Alatise, Martha Jackson Jarvis, Thaddeus Mosley, Tajh Rust, Devan Shimoyama, and Shikeith. She served as an Art Commissioner for the City of Pittsburgh’s Art Commission for twelve years.  Luckett has held positions as Curator of Meta Pittsburgh’s Open Arts, Consulting Curator of Visual Arts at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, Director of Development at The Andy Warhol Museum, and Curatorial Assistant at Wood Street Galleries, where she helped organize shows that included Xu Bing, Louise Bourgeois, Larry Bell, Catherine Opie, Nam June Paik, and Tim Rollins + K.O.S.

See more:  Alma Lewis website + Kilolo Luckett’s IG @kilololuckett

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Advocate and Collaborate w/ curator Kilolo Luckett

Mint Gallery in Atlanta has closed its doors, suddenly and sloppily. How could this happen to such a well known, well used space? Studio Noize has recorded episodes there. Your boy JBarber had his thesis show there. There was a history and reputation to the gallery. Today we bring back Jasmine Nicole Williams, aka Jiggy Jas, back for an emergency episode of Studio Noize. We unload our thoughts on the closing of Mint and how poorly it was all handled. We discuss the precarious nature of being an artist and how devastating it can be to have your life and livelihood threatened by bad business. We talk about the changing landscape of arts funding, the need for community and the courage it takes to advocate for yourself and your fellow artists. Listen, subscribe, and share!

Episode 191 topics include:

the chaos of Mint Gallery closing

non-profit arts funding

how poor leadership effects working artists

being transparent

the dream of having a studio

what creates culture

what comes from the chaos

Jasmine Nicole Williams is a Black American visual artist and organizer from Atlanta, GA. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Art in Printmaking from the University of West Georgia in 2017. Her work explores her southern, black, and femme identities through printmaking and murals to inspire people to dive deeper into their humanity.

Influenced by the work of artists like Elizabeth Catlett and Emory Douglas, Jasmine believes in the transformative power of portraiture, print, and public art. She understands the role of art and the need for that art to be accessible to the people as a tool to advance the working-class struggle. With a deep interest in craft and process, Jasmine makes dignified work that reflects and relates to everyday people and injects them with a spirit of optimism toward the future.

Since receiving her BFA, Jasmine’s work has been showcased at Prizm Art Fair, Perez Museum Miami, ZuCot Gallery, Eyedrum, MINT Gallery, and Echo Contemporary. She has received residencies from Hambidge and Midtown Alliance. She was awarded grants from RedBull, Sprite, WISH ATL, and Dream Warriors Foundation and fellowships from Southern Graphics Council International and TILA Studios. She has worked with [adult swim] and Nike. Currently, Jasmine is the 2023 recipient of the Living Walls Abroad Fellowship. 

Jasmine continues her practice in Atlanta, GA.

See more: Rough Draft Atlanta: MINT Gallery abruptly closes its doors at MET Atlanta + AJC: Mint gallery closed suddenly, leaving artists scrambling and unhappy + Jasmine Williams website + Jasmine Williams IG @jn.ooomami

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Bad Business at Mint w/ artist Jasmine Nicole Williams

Anthony Burks, a native Floridian, is a conceptual fine and commercial artist. He works in numerous forms of media including charcoal, pen & ink, pastels, watercolor, and color pencil. The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale graduate has won awards and contests including Best of Show in several different art shows. He has worked and collaborated with numerous companies and organizations over the years through his 30-year company with his wife, Trina Slade-Burks, ATB Fine ArtGroup Inc. (ATB).

Anthony has exhibited his artwork at various galleries, museums, and events. He also utilizes his skills to encourage artistic youth and adults to further pursue their own creative talents and to help promote the arts. He has co-curated varies exhibitions including Continuum PB Arts Fair, Collaboration: African Diaspora Exhibition, Karibu and Boys II Men Art Expo just to name a few. These exhibitions have provided opportunities for emerging, mid-career and established artists and have exposed them to collectors who may not have had the opportunity otherwise.Over the last 20 years, he has also provided opportunities through arts education and artistic techniques to develop artistic skills in drawing and art appreciation.

 

See more:  Anthony Burks Sr. website + Anthony Burks Sr. IG @ampburks

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So Many Series w/ artist Anthony Burks Sr.

A couple of weeks ago a group of super talented printmakers got to together in Houston at the studio  of the one and only Delita Martin. We talking Delita, Chloe Alexander, Anne Johnson, Rabea Ballin, Shanna Strauss, Jess Sabogal, Rashaun Rucker and Steve Prince who couldn’t make it. Even your boy JBarber slid in there some how. The magic of the moment inspired us to create a new printmaking collective called the Legacy Print Council. Of course JBarber pulled out the mics to document such a momentous occasion. Today we got Delita Martin and Chloe Alexander talking about how this all came together and the value of sharing with your peers. Followed by Dr. Kheli Willetts who came by the studio to visit and ended up making a print herself. Kheli talks about being inspired to make a print, the time she spent with Elizabeth Catlett and her observation about the event. It’s just a little taste of that good art talk from Legacy Weekend with the crew.  Listen, subscribe, and share!

Episode 193 topics include:

how the Legacy Weekend came together

energy in the print studio

sharing techniques with your peers

continuing to learn as your career grows

creating a collaborative portfolio

Dr Kheli Willetts jumping into printing again

Dr Kheli Willetts spending time with Elizabeth Catlett

the context of Legacy Weekend
Delita Martin is an artist currently based in Huffman, Texas. She received a BFA in drawing from Texas Southern University and an MFA in printmaking from Purdue University. Formerly a member of the fine arts faculty at UA Little Rock in Arkansas, Martin currently works as a full-time artist in her studio, Black Box Press. Martin’s work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally. Most recently Martin’s work was included in the State of the Arts: Discovering American Art Now, an exhibition that included 101 artists from around the United States. Her work is in numerous portfolios and collections.

Chloe Alexander is a printmaker who works out of Atlanta, Georgia. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2010 and an M.Ed. in 2014, both from Georgia State University. Alexander is a national and international exhibiting artist who has shown work in institutions such as the International Print Center in New York, the Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair in London, and the Kai Lin Art Gallery in Atlanta. 

Dr. Kheli Willetts is Principal and Founder of Dira Professional Development. Prior to starting her own firm, Dr. Willetts was Director of Professional Development at Mid-America Arts Alliance (MAAA) small to midsize arts and cultural organizations as well as practicing artists.

 

See more:  Delita Martin website + Delita Martin IG @blackboxpress + Chloe Alexander website + Chloe Alexander IG @thehaplessprintmaker + Dr Kheli Willetts website

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Legacy Weekend w/ the Legacy Print Council

Raw Material is an arts and culture podcast from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). Each season focuses on a different topic, featuring voices of artists working in all media and exploring the inspiration and stories behind modern and contemporary art.

New tracks tagged #Artpod